diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 2cb316ff..2d02aa93 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -5590,6 +5590,11 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/querystring-es3/-/querystring-es3-0.2.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha1-nsYfeQSYdXB9aUFFlv2Qek1xHnM="
     },
+    "quick-lru": {
+      "version": "1.1.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/quick-lru/-/quick-lru-1.1.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-Q2CxfGETatOAeDl/8RQW4Ybc+7g="
+    },
     "randomatic": {
       "version": "1.1.7",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/randomatic/-/randomatic-1.1.7.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1fa54ed6..b51a2d2a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
     "npm-run-all": "^4.1.2",
     "performance-now": "^2.1.0",
     "pify": "^3.0.0",
+    "quick-lru": "^1.1.0",
     "requestidlecallback": "^0.3.0",
     "rimraf": "^2.6.2",
     "sapper": "^0.3.2",
diff --git a/routes/_components/Timeline.html b/routes/_components/Timeline.html
index 2b43f17f..bf59344a 100644
--- a/routes/_components/Timeline.html
+++ b/routes/_components/Timeline.html
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 <:Window bind:online />
 <div class="timeline" role="feed" aria-label="{{label}}" on:initialized>
   <VirtualList component="{{StatusListItem}}"
-               items="{{keyedStatuses}}"
+               :makeProps
+               :items
                on:scrollToBottom="onScrollToBottom()"
                shown="{{initialized}}"
                footerComponent="{{LoadingFooter}}"
@@ -42,16 +43,18 @@
     data: () => ({
       StatusListItem: StatusListItem,
       LoadingFooter: LoadingFooter,
-      statuses: [],
+      statusIds: [],
       runningUpdate: false,
       initialized: false
     }),
     computed: {
-      keyedStatuses: (statuses) => statuses.map(status => ({
-        props: status,
-        key: status.id
-      })),
-      lastStatusId: (statuses) => statuses.length && statuses[statuses.length - 1].id,
+      makeProps: ($currentInstance) => (statusId) => database.getStatus($currentInstance, statusId),
+      items: (statusIds) => {
+        return statusIds.map(statusId => ({
+          key: statusId
+        }))
+      },
+      lastStatusId: (statusIds) => statusIds.length && statusIds[statusIds.length - 1],
       label: (timeline, $currentInstance) => {
         if (timelines[timeline]) {
           `${timelines[timeline].label} timeline for ${$currentInstance}`
@@ -89,12 +92,16 @@
         if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
           console.log('addStatuses()')
         }
-        let statuses = this.get('statuses')
-        if (!statuses) {
+        let instanceName = this.store.get('instanceName')
+        let timeline = this.get('timeline')
+        /* no await */ database.insertStatuses(instanceName, timeline, newStatuses)
+        let statusIds = this.get('statusIds')
+        if (!statusIds) {
           return
         }
-        let merged = mergeStatuses(statuses, newStatuses)
-        this.set({ statuses: merged })
+        let newStatusIds = newStatuses.map(status => status.id)
+        let merged = mergeStatuses(statusIds, newStatusIds)
+        this.set({ statusIds: merged })
       },
       async fetchStatusesAndPossiblyFallBack() {
         let online = this.get('online')
diff --git a/routes/_components/VirtualList.html b/routes/_components/VirtualList.html
index 1d8c311c..fcc694a6 100644
--- a/routes/_components/VirtualList.html
+++ b/routes/_components/VirtualList.html
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 <!-- TODO: setting height is hacky, just make this element the scroller -->
 <div class="virtual-list {{shown ? '' : 'hidden'}}" style="height: {{$height}}px;">
   {{#each $visibleItems as item @key}}
-    <VirtualListItem :component
-                     offset="{{item.offset}}"
-                     props="{{item.props}}"
-                     key="{{item.key}}"
-                     index="{{item.index}}"
+    <VirtualListLazyItem :component
+                         offset="{{item.offset}}"
+                         makeProps="{{makeProps}}"
+                         key="{{item.key}}"
+                         index="{{item.index}}"
     />
   {{/each}}
   {{#if $showFooter}}
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
   }
 </style>
 <script>
-  import VirtualListItem from './VirtualListItem'
+  import VirtualListLazyItem from './VirtualListLazyItem'
   import VirtualListFooter from './VirtualListFooter.html'
   import { virtualListStore } from '../_utils/virtualListStore'
   import throttle from 'lodash/throttle'
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
     }),
     store: () => virtualListStore,
     components: {
-      VirtualListItem,
+      VirtualListLazyItem,
       VirtualListFooter
     },
     computed: {
diff --git a/routes/_components/VirtualListItem.html b/routes/_components/VirtualListItem.html
index 4ae2ec19..624c543c 100644
--- a/routes/_components/VirtualListItem.html
+++ b/routes/_components/VirtualListItem.html
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
      virtual-list-key="{{key}}"
      ref:node
      style="transform: translateY({{offset}}px);" >
-  <:Component {component} virtualProps="{{props}}" virtualIndex="{{index}}" virtualLength="{{$numItems}}"
+  <:Component {component}
+              virtualProps="{{props}}"
+              virtualIndex="{{index}}"
+              virtualLength="{{$numItems}}"
               on:recalculateHeight="doRecalculateHeight()"/>
 </div>
 <style>
diff --git a/routes/_components/VirtualListLazyItem.html b/routes/_components/VirtualListLazyItem.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a649bff8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/routes/_components/VirtualListLazyItem.html
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{{#if props}}
+<VirtualListItem :component
+                 :offset
+                 :props
+                 :key
+                 :index
+                 />
+{{/if}}
+<script>
+  import VirtualListItem from './VirtualListItem'
+  export default {
+    async oncreate() {
+      let makeProps = this.get('makeProps')
+      let key = this.get('key')
+      let props = await makeProps(key)
+      this.set({ props: props })
+    },
+    components: {
+      VirtualListItem
+    }
+  }
+</script>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/routes/_utils/database/databaseCore.js b/routes/_utils/database/databaseCore.js
index 0f531aa5..7a07bc29 100644
--- a/routes/_utils/database/databaseCore.js
+++ b/routes/_utils/database/databaseCore.js
@@ -13,6 +13,18 @@ import {
   STATUSES_STORE, ACCOUNTS_STORE
 } from './constants'
 
+import QuickLRU from 'quick-lru'
+
+const statusesCache = new QuickLRU({maxSize: 100})
+
+if (process.browser && process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+  window.cacheStats = {
+    cache: statusesCache,
+    cacheHits: 0,
+    cacheMisses: 0
+  }
+}
+
 export async function getTimeline(instanceName, timeline, maxId = null, limit = 20) {
   const db = await getDatabase(instanceName, timeline)
   return await dbPromise(db, [TIMELINE_STORE, STATUSES_STORE], 'readonly', (stores, callback) => {
@@ -37,6 +49,9 @@ export async function getTimeline(instanceName, timeline, maxId = null, limit =
 }
 
 export async function insertStatuses(instanceName, timeline, statuses) {
+  for (let status of statuses) {
+    statusesCache.set(status.id, status)
+  }
   const db = await getDatabase(instanceName, timeline)
   await dbPromise(db, [TIMELINE_STORE, STATUSES_STORE, ACCOUNTS_STORE], 'readwrite', (stores) => {
     let [ timelineStore, statusesStore, accountsStore ] = stores
@@ -85,4 +100,24 @@ export async function getAccount(instanceName, accountId) {
 
 export async function clearDatabaseForInstance(instanceName) {
   await deleteDatabase(instanceName)
+}
+
+export async function getStatus(instanceName, statusId) {
+  if (statusesCache.has(statusId)) {
+    if (process.browser && process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+      window.cacheStats.cacheHits++
+    }
+    return statusesCache.get(statusId)
+  }
+  const db = await getDatabase(instanceName)
+  let result = await dbPromise(db, STATUSES_STORE, 'readonly', (store, callback) => {
+    store.get(statusId).onsuccess = (e) => {
+      callback(e.target.result && e.target.result)
+    }
+  })
+  statusesCache.set(statusId, result)
+  if (process.browser && process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+    window.cacheStats.cacheMisses++
+  }
+  return result
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/routes/_utils/statuses.js b/routes/_utils/statuses.js
index 93654556..05868471 100644
--- a/routes/_utils/statuses.js
+++ b/routes/_utils/statuses.js
@@ -1,27 +1,26 @@
 // Merge two lists of statuses for the same timeline, e.g. one from IDB
 // and another from the network. In case of duplicates, prefer the fresh.
-export function mergeStatuses(leftStatuses, rightStatuses) {
+export function mergeStatuses(leftStatusIds, rightStatusIds) {
   let leftIndex = 0
   let rightIndex = 0
   let merged = []
-  while (leftIndex < leftStatuses.length || rightIndex < rightStatuses.length) {
-    if (leftIndex === leftStatuses.length) {
-      merged.push(rightStatuses[rightIndex])
+  while (leftIndex < leftStatusIds.length || rightIndex < rightStatusIds.length) {
+    if (leftIndex === leftStatusIds.length) {
+      merged.push(rightStatusIds[rightIndex])
       rightIndex++
       continue
     }
-    if (rightIndex === rightStatuses.length) {
-      merged.push(leftStatuses[leftIndex])
+    if (rightIndex === rightStatusIds.length) {
+      merged.push(leftStatusIds[leftIndex])
       leftIndex++
       continue
     }
-    let left = leftStatuses[leftIndex]
-    let right = rightStatuses[rightIndex]
-    if (right.id === left.id) {
-      merged.push(right.pinafore_stale ? left : right)
+    let left = leftStatusIds[leftIndex]
+    let right = rightStatusIds[rightIndex]
+    if (right === left) {
       rightIndex++
       leftIndex++
-    } else if (parseInt(right.id, 10) > parseInt(left.id, 10)) {
+    } else if (parseInt(right, 10) > parseInt(left, 10)) {
       merged.push(right)
       rightIndex++
     } else {
diff --git a/routes/_utils/virtualListStore.js b/routes/_utils/virtualListStore.js
index 32b7ea72..8d02c358 100644
--- a/routes/_utils/virtualListStore.js
+++ b/routes/_utils/virtualListStore.js
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ virtualListStore.compute('visibleItems',
   let len = items.length
   let i = -1
   while (++i < len) {
-    let { props, key } = items[i]
+    let { key } = items[i]
     let height = itemHeights[key] || 0
     let currentOffset = totalOffset
     totalOffset += height
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@ virtualListStore.compute('visibleItems',
     }
     visibleItems.push({
       offset: currentOffset,
-      props: props,
       key: key,
       index: i
     })